


F 273 

.n46 
Copy 1 



y 

FUNERAL SERMON, 



Delivered on Lord's Day, December 17, isir. 



IX Tati 



REPRESENTATIVES' CHAMBER, 

BEFORE BOTH BRANCHES OF THE 

LEGISLATURE 



OF THE 



^TATE OF SOUTH CAROLLXJi. 



J3Y JONATHAN 3IAXCY, D. D. 

PR£SlD£]!iT OF TUB SOUTH CABOLIJJA 
COLLEGE. 



COLUMBIA, S. C. 
PRINTED AT THS TELESCOPE PRESS. 

1818, 



_ -. _ J, /^^^ 

F 273 
.n46 
Copy 1 






FUNERAL SEB3I0N, 

Delivered on Lord's Bay, December 17, 181 r. 



IW TAB 



REPRESENTATIVES' CHAMBER, 

BEFORE BOTH BRANCHES OF THE 

LEGISLATURE 



OF THE 



^TATE OF SOUTH CJROLLYJ, 



:BY JONATHAN 3IAXCY, D. D. 

fR£SlU£JJT OF THB SOUTH CAROHNA 
COLLEOE. 



COLUMBIA, S. C. 
PRINTED AT THE TELESCOPE ^RESS, 

1818. 






V \- 



ADVERTISEMENT. 

The following disrourse when delivered bad noi 
been written. 1 had merely stated its principal divisions* 
with a few i>fief illustrations. As an application was 
made by both branches of the Legislature, for its publi- 
cation, I did not feel myself at liberty to withhold my 
assent. The discourse I have reduced to writing, and 
I am confident that the doctrines it contains, and the 
words in which they are expressed, are, with some small 
variations, the same as when delivered. Such as it is, 
I beg leave to commit it to the candour of the Legislature 
and the publick J, M.- 



A FUNERAL SERMON. 

Honoured Legislators, — 

You are assembled to deplore the loss, 
and to consecrate the memory, of your late 
associates in the services and honours of the 
State. It has pleased the Almighty to re- 
move them from the busy scenes of life, 
and to consign them to the quiet house of 
death. Tliis awful dispensation of Divine 
Providence announces to us the precarious 
tenure of life, and the alarming fragility of 
all its hopes, its labours, and its honours. Let 
us hear the warning voice of God ! Let us 
learn our own destiny in the example of 
others ! In the late afflictive visitation, you 
behold several members of this honourable 
Legislature, whose hopes were as strong, 
and whose prospects were as bright as your 
own ; who shared with you the labours of the 
State; who equally with you enjoyed the 
public confidence and esteem; suddenly ar- 
rested in their course, and removed into the 
eternal world. While we magnify that di- 
vine forbearance which has spared us; and 
gratefully recognize that Divine Providence 



6 FUNERAL SERMON. 

which has encircled us with hiessings; let 
us adore that righteous and mysterious 
Sovereignty whicli disposes of all things on 
the earth and in the heavens ; let us bow to 
that tremendous Majesty, before whom all 
human grandeur shrinks into nothing. But 
while Me tremble before the great and ever- 
living God, let us hope and rejoice ; remem- 
bering that his goodness is as boundless as 
his poAver; that whatever he creates he 
blesses; and that he does "not willingly 
grieve or afflict the children of men." — 
Though he has subjected us to death; yet 
he has rendered this, to all who embrace 
and obey the gospel, the means of increased 
felicity and glory. With only the light of 
nature for our guide, we can trace the pro- 
gress of man no farther than the grave. 
Hera he appears fallen and forever lost. 
But aided by revelation, we can follow 
him into a future world, and behold him 
surviving the stroke of death, and triumph- 
ing in immortal existence. 

The sun of righteousness has poured his 
rays into the gloomy valley, and brightened 
tbe region of disembodied spirits. He has 
abolished death, and broTiJ?ht life and im- 
mortality to light. It is the distinguishing 



FUNERAL SERMON. ? 

attribute of Christianity, that it dispels the 
doubts of its votaries, and inspires them 
with confidence and hope. So strong and 
lively is this hope in the breast of the Chris- 
tian, that the scripture describes it "as aa 
anchor to the soul both sure and steadfast.'* 
To all who regard their future welfare, it 
becomes an object of the deepest interest to 
ascertain the grounds on which a Christian 
builds his hope of existence and happiness 
beyond the grave. That we may view this 
subject in the light of divine truth, permit 
Ine to call your attention to those words of 
the apostle Paul, recorded in 3 Cor. v. C. 
" Therefore, we are always confident, know- 
ing, that whilst we are at home in the body, 
we are absent from the Lord.'* 

The uncertainty in which we are in- 
volved with regard to futurity, is the prin- 
cipal circumstance which renders death an 
object of terror. Were our destiny aftef 
the present life fully unfolded, our happi- 
ness or our misery would be greatly aug- 
mented. God, no doubt, has furnished us 
with as much knowledge as is suitable to 
our state ; and in a great degree, has wisely 
concealed from our view, the glories and 
terrors of a future world. Between these 



S FUNERAL SERMOK. 

and our present state, the difference is so 
great, the contrast so tremendous and dis- 
proportionate, that a complete disclosure 
would overwhelm us with astonishment- 
suspend our powers, and totally disqualify 
lis for the husinesses and enjoyments of 
life. Though we see through a glass dark- 
ly, yet we see enough to excite our hopes 
and our fears; enough to alarm the vicious 
and encourage the virtuous; enough to 
rouse up all our exertions to obtain the fa- 
vour and avoid the displeasure of our Maker. 
While engrossed in the cai'es, the toils, and 
the pleasures of the present life, and re- 
gardless of God and futurity, " we walk by 
sight, and are children of disobedience ;" but 
when the terrors of the Lord arrest us; 
when we realize that we must stand before 
the judgment-seat of Christ,* we begin to 
walk by faith, and feel the power "of things 
invisible and eternal." Faith substantiates 
these to the mind, and gives them a govern- 
ing influence over our conduct. Faith dis- 
charges the same office to the soul, that 
the eye does to the body, bringing near and 
displaying things distant and unseen ; form- 
ing a medium of communication between 
the soul and the future world, and enabling 



FUNERAL SERMON. 9 

it to rely on the testimony of God. It is 
the grand peculiarity of the Christian sys- 
tem, that all its great rewards lie in a fu- 
ture world; and that all its incentives to 
virtue and dissuasives fromi vice, are clothed 
with the weight and importance of eternity. 
Hence it is, that, in the Scriptures, such 
mighty virtue is attributed to the principle 
of faith. It operates as a new sense, which 
reaches forward beyond life, and lays hold 
on tilings distant and unseen, giving them 
a powerful and decisive influence on the 
heart and conduct. Christianitv, in this 
point of view, is of incalculable value to so- 
ciety and government. Faith is the go- 
vernour and director of the Christian. It 
forms his sentiments, and animates his ac- 
tions. How powerful, how conspicuous, 
was its influence on the primitive believers 5 
especially on the apostle Paul ! Such was 
his persuasion of the reality of things eter« 
nal, that he esteemed all the evils, labours 
land sufferings of the present >/orld, as of no 
consideration, in comparison of that eternal 
weight of glory which is to come. Such 
was his hope and confidence in God, that 
he could say, as in the words preceding our 



iO FUNERAL SERMON. 

text, "we know that if this earthly house of 
our tahernacle were dissolved, we have a 
building of God, an house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens/' His con- 
fidence was greatly increased by the con- 
sideration, that God was its author, and had 
strengthened it by the testimony of his 
Spirit. " Now,'' says he, " he that hath 
wrought us for this self- same thing, is Godj 
who also hath given us the earnest of the 
Spirit.'* "Therefore we are always confi- 
dent, knowing that whilst we are at home 
in the body, we are absent from the Lord."" 

The following important doctrines are 
contained in these words: 

1. That the soul survives the dissolu- 
tion of the body. 

S. That Christians at death are received 
into heaven, where Christ their Lord is, in 
his glorified body. 

3. That Christians have sufficient rea« 
sons to be always confident that they shall 
exist after death, and be forever with Christ 
in glory. 

These particulars I shall endeavour to 
iUustrate and confirm. 



FUNERAL SERMON. 11 

I sliall then close the service with a 
short address. 

I. T am first to show that the soul sur- 
vives the dissolution of the hody. 

On the subject of the immortality of the 
so.ul, the ancients entertained various and 
contradictory opinions. It is, however, 
apparent, that the predominant belief of the 
wisest and best philosophers was, that the 
soul is indistructible and immortal. Of 
this they seemed to have rather ^ strong 
persuasion, than a firm and stable convic- 
tion. They saw that man appeared not to 
answer any determinate and ultimate pur- 
pose in the present state. They discovered 
in his intellectual and moral nature, princi- 
ples that seemed susceptible of unlimited 
improvement, desires boundless as eternity. 
Were these bestowed, merely to be de- 
stroyed? To the various desires and in- 
stincts of man they saw appropriate objects 
provided. Could it be supposed that the 
ardent desire of endless existence was be- 
stowed without a possibility of gratification ? 
Every feeling of the heart revolts at the 
thought of annihilation. It seemed incon- 
sistent with the wisdom and goodness of 



IS FUNERAL SERMON. 

God, to reduce to nonentity such a bcin;^ as 
man, almost as soon as lie began to exist, 
before his powers were eyolved and carried 
to perfection. Besides, every thing here 
appeared confused and disproportionate: 
Yice often rode in triumph, while virtue 
grovelled in the dust; evil often prevailed 
over good, and injustice rioted in the spoils 
of innocence. A state of retribution or 
equalization appeared to be demanded or 
indicated, by the rectoral justice of God. 
Socrates, the greatest philosopher in all 
heathen antiquity, contended earnestly for 
the immortality of the soul. From this he 
considered man as deriving his principal 
dignity and worth. It is, however, verj^ 
apparent from the last words of Socrates to 
his judges, that his belief in the immortality 
of the soul, was not unmixed with doul)t 
and uncertainty. Cicero, with all his gi- 
gantick powers and lordly virtues, was great- 
ly perplexed on this subject; and after 
adding to his own profound meditations, the 
lights of alibis predecessors, seemed ardent- 
ly to desire, rather than firmly to believe, the 
immortality of the soul. Thus inadequate 
appears the light of nature, even in the 



FUNERAL SEllMON. 13 

greatest men, on this most important 
subject. 

Among the moderns who have ex- 
pressed their opinions on it, Doctor Priest- 
ley is the most distinguished. The leading 
principle of his doctrine is, '* That man is 
no more than we see him to he.'' He is a 
simple material being. What is called 
mind, is merely the result of animal or- 
ganization. There is no foundation in na- 
ture for the usual distinction betAveen soul 
and body, or mind and matter. Mind, or 
the power of thought, is a mere quality of 
the brain; resides in it as its proper organ, 
and by it exhibits all those phenomena that 
are denominated mental. When the Im- 
man body is completely formed, organised, 
and combined, and all the senses operated 
on by tlieir appropriate objects, the result 
is thought, or the power of thinking ; in the 
same manner as musick proceeds from a 
complete instrument when struck hy a skil- 
ful hand. Thus, upon this scheme, mind can 
have no separate existence. Demolish the 
organization of the body, and the man ceases 
to exist ; he is as if he never had been, and 
for Ills future life depends entirely on thr 



i4i FUNERAL SEIIMON. 

resurrection. When this shall be accom- 
plished, and the body re-organised and re- 
combined, the power of thought will re- 
appear ; consciousness will resume her em- 
pire, and the man will find himself the same 
person that he was before his dissolution. 

This doctrine appears to me equally re« 
pugnant to sound philosophy and the lan- 
guage of Scripture. To reject the distinc- 
tion between soul and body, or mind and 
matter, is ultimately to reject the distinc- 
tion between cause and effect, and thus to 
render all the appearances of nature inex- 
plicable, and to plunge into atheism. 

Two things pervade and constitute the 
whole of nature. One is known by this, that 
it is moved ; the other by this, that it moves. 
The first is denominated matter, the last 
mind. Matter cannot move itself, and con- 
sequently cannot move any thing else. 
Wherever, therefore, we see matter in mo- 
tion, we are sure that it is moved by some- 
thing that is not matter. That something 
is mind. Now it is certain that all matter 
is in motion ; consequently, wherever there 
is matter there is mind, or a self-active, im- 
material principle, which produces and sus- 



FUNERAL SERMON. i3 

fains motion. Wherever there is motion, 
the cause of it must he present ; for aheing 
cannot act where it does not exist. In addi-. 
tion to this elemental mind, or active, im- 
material suhstance, man possesses intellect 
and spontaneous power, or volition. From 
these he derives his chief dignity and su- 
periority over the other parts of creation. 
We are as sure of the existence of mind as 
of matter. When we reason, think, remem- 
ber, or put forth any other internal act, we 
are as certain that we do so, as we are that 
we exist. We have no direct knowledge 
either of mind or matter. Both are known 
by their qualities or actions only. It is a law 
universally admitted, that similar effects or 
qualities should be referred to similar 
causes, and the contrary. A greater dis- 
crepancy cannot be conceived, than exists 
between the qualities of mind and those of 
matter. All the properties usually ascribed 
to matter may be reduced to one, and that 
is solidity. But solidity is resistance : were 
it not for this, we could not know that such 
a substance as matter were in existence. 
But we must remember, that resistance is 
action, and action is power ; and power is 



10 FUxNERAL SERMOxV. 

a quality of the mind, or sometliing tliat is 
not matter. Thus it would appear that what 
is called matter, when strictly scrutinized, 
loses its donomination, and hecomes a qua^ 
lit}^ Mind therefore is the chief thing, and 
only agent, in the universe — the only real 
suhstance existing. In short, the material 
universe is merely a temporary modification 
of power, giving an outward exhihition or 
picture of the invisihle grandeur and ma- 
jesty of God ; and will, when his purposes 
are answered hy it, revert to its immaterial, 
elementary source, '' and, like the haseless 
fahric of a vision, leave not a wreck hehind.'* 
IIow^ ahsurd is it to talk of matter as the 
principal thing in nature, when indeed it is 
merely nature's dress ! Mind, or soul, con- 
stitutes man. From this he derives all his 
dignity and worth. The hody is a mere 
temporary vehicle, connecting man with the 
present world, and suited to answer his pur- 
poses here ; hut at death will he throw n 
aside, to he succeeded by a hody spiritual 
and incorruptible. 

On a subject of such high importance as 
the distinction on which I have insisted, 
God has not left us to the mere light of nar 



FmS'ERAL SERMOK. iT 

ture. Xo, thanks to Ills condescending good- 
ness ! lie has given us " a more sure word of 
prophecy." To this let us now appeal. 
Through the Scriptures the distinction he» 
tween soul and body is clearly asserted, and 
constantly referred to, as a fundamental 
truth. In the following words, Mat. x. S8, 
Christ commands his disciples not to fear 
men: "Fear them not which kill the body^ 
but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather 
fear him, v/hich is able to destroy both soul 
and body in hell." If these words do not 
fully imply that soul and body are distinct 
substances, and that the former is the princi- 
pal part, for Avhicli we ought to be principal". 
ly concerned, it is impossible for words to 
imply these truths. These words would be 
destitute of meaning, if man were wholly 
material. Though Christ repeatedly as- 
sured his disciples that he should rise from 
the dead, yet they understood him not. The 
words bringing the tiding of his resurrec«^ 
tlon, seemed to them "like idle tales." 
They were gure that Christ was dead ; they 
had seen him expire on the cross ; they had 
seen him laid in the tomb. After his resur- 
rection, when his disciples were assembled, 



iB funehal serMoK 

'' Jesus liimseir stood in the midst of theili^ 
and saitli. Peace be unto joii." Tliey are 
petrified with astonislimeut, supposing "that 
they had seen a spirit.'' Mart the wo rets of 
Christ: "Behold my hands and my fcct,^ 
that it is I myself; handle me and see ; for 
a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see 
me have." Lute xxiv. 39. Stephen the proto- 
martyr, when stoned to death, cried out, 
"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Acts vli. 59. 
In 1 Cor. ii. 11, the apostle says, ''For what 
man tnoweth the thinj^s of a man save the 
spirit of man that is in him ? even so the 
things of God tnoweth no man, but the 
Spirit of God.'^ John heard a Voice from 
heaven saying, "Blessed are the dead which 
die in the Lord from henceforth.^' Itev. 14, 
13. The apostle Paul puts it beyond all 
doubt that the soul survives the dissolution 
of the bodv, and exists in a state of conscious 
activity and enjoyment. Thus lie says to 
the Philippians,cliap. i. iSSj "For I am in 
a strait betwixt tw6 : having a desire to de- 
part, and to be with Clirist, which is far bet- 
ter." And in % Cor. v. B : ^' We are conS- 
dent, and willing rather to be absent from 
the body, and to be present with the Lord/ 



rUNERAL SERMON. i9 

To tlie satoc purpose was the Iiiriguagc of 
"Christ to the thief crueified with him : " V(x, 
rib' I say unto thee, to-tlay shalt thou be 
with me in Paradise.'' At our Saviour's 
transfiguration, " there appeared Moses and 
Eli as talking with him." This would hare 
been impossible, if Moses and Elias had not 
been in existence in the spiritual world. Our 
Saviour repeated the words of God from 
Moses, to prove that the dead will rise : '' I 
am the God of Abraliam, and of Isaac, and 
of Jacob." How do these words contf>in the 
doctrine of the resurrection ? Our Saviour 
will inform us : " God," says he, " is not the 
God of the dead, but of the living." A])rn"^ 
ham. Isaac, and Jacob, therefore, are alive ; 
and to make the w ords true in thc^Jr full ex-^ 
tent and meaning, these persons must again 
be united to their bodies : for these are ob- 
jects of redemption as well as their souls. 
The pijrable of the rich man and Lazarus is 
evidently built on the common opinion, en- 
tertained by the %Tev s, of the state of depart 
ed souls, and their different situations after 
this life. It is triply astonishing, that so 
ynany of the moderns, and some of thcui 
eminent for biblical knowledge, shouM La r 



so FUNERAL SERMON. 

asserted, that the doctrine of a future life^ 
and of the immortality of the soul, was not 
tnown to the patriarchs, prophets, and righ- 
teous men of ancient times. The contrary 
is abundantly evident, both from the fre- 
quent allusions to this doctrine in the wri- 
tings of the Old Testament, as well as in 
those of the New. Turn to the reasoning of 
Paul, as stated in the eleventh chapter to 
the Hebrews. He is describing the naturej 
the effects, and the object of faith. These 
he exemplifies in Abel, in Enoch, and Noah; 
in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He particu- 
larly mentions Abraham, and says, " By 
faith he sojourned in the land of promise, 
as in a strange country, dwelling in taber- 
nacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with 
him of the same promise." What was tliis 
promise ? Was it a city in the land of Ca- 
naan? Far otherwise. The apostle says, 
'•He looked for a city which hath founda- 
tions, whose builder and maker is God.'' 
'*Now they desire a better country; that is^ 
an heavenly." The apostle proceeds, and 
inentions Joseph and Moses, Gideon and 
Samuel, and the prophets, and illustrates 
their faith by their hope of future reward* 



He mentions others who were tortured, not 
accepting deliverance. This, he says, they 
did, " that they might obtain a better re- 
-surrection." This great number of ancient 
worthies, he dechires, all died in the fuitb^ 
'* not having received the promise/' Thus it 
appears that the true worshippers of God, 
under the former dispensatiou, believed not 
only in the separate existence of the soul, 
but in the resurrection of the body. 

If the doctrine of the separate existence 
of the soul be true, the dreary and comfort- 
less doctrine of materialism, and temporary 
annihilation, must be false. Those who con- 
tend for the non-existence of the soul in a 
separate state, often demand an example of 
one who has visited the unseen world, and 
returned to the earth. This, I presume, I 
shall be able to exhibit ; and also to prove, 
by direct example from Scripture, the exist- 
ence of disembodied spirits. For this pur- 
pose, permit me to call your attention to 
those words of St. Peter, as quoted from the 
Psalms, Acts ii. 27 : ^* Thou wilt not leave- 
my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine 
holy one to see corruption," 



^ FUNETIAL SERMON; 



Tlu^ design of the apostle In tliest? 
T, Olds is, to proYc tlie resiirrertioii of Christ. 
The words, as tliev ore spoken, refer to Da-, 
rid. The apostle, hoy» ever, shews that they 
•^rcrc not fulfilled in liim: " for," says he, 
** he is both dead and buried, and his sepul- 
chre is with lis unto tliis day." David per» 
nonated Christ when lie spake, " being a 
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn 
^vitli an oath to him, that of the fruit of his 
loins, according to the flesh, he would raise 
Tip Christ to sit upon Ms throne ; he, seeing 
this before, spake of the resurrcetion of 
Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, nei- 
ther did liis flesh sec corruption." To ren- 
der lug reasoning ec^clusive, the apostle 
flakes these words froin v^ritings which the 
Jews acknowledged to be of divine auihority, 
:iud. instead of applying them to David, ap- 
plied them to Christ. Of him he says, '"that 
Jus soul was not left in hell, neither did his 
51esh SCO eorruptioii." Now if the soul of 
€lirist was not left in hell, it must certainly 
Jiave l?een there. What are we to under-; 
^^tand by this ? I will endeavour to shovr 
Tou. The word used in the Greek version 
j« hades. This si^-niSes the invisible state^ 



Ft^Elut SERMON. ^^ 

tlie receptacle of disembodied spirits, tile 
general tiiansion into wliicli all descended 
at death. ^" Tlie Hebrew Avord used ill the Old 
Testament fortius state is s/ieoL Throughout: 
the sacred Scriptures it is invariably used in 
this sense. Another Word, keher^ used by 
the Hebrew livriters, signifies the grave. 
These two words, the names of hell and the 
grave, ate never confounded by the Hebrew 
'Writers, The first signifies the mansion of 
the departed spirit; the last the repositorj 
of the dead bod} . The Greek words, hades 
and taphoSj exactly correspond to them, atid 
are used as such by the writers of the Xew 
Testament. Unfoi-tunately, in our trangla- 
'tion these words are confounded, and pro- 
miscuously translated hell ol- grave. When 
the word hell is used, the first notion 
it presents to an English reader is, the 
place of tornient, whereas it properly signi. 
fies no more than the invisible state, or hid- 
den place. The word which properly sigi 
nifies the place of ttjrmeut is Gehenna^ u 

* Those who wish to see this subject fully and icarnediv 
discussed, I beg leave to refer to Dr. Horselj's Critkal Njie.^ 
on Hosea, page 25r,&c. pages 200, 201 ; and pa-e 4G, liolc 
71 ; and also hi^ 8'ermon on Christ's Descent iuto Meil. Lon;!. 
W\L 1804, 



24 FUNERAL SERMON. 

word of Hebrew derivation. Thus, by ^n 
abuse of iaiigUc^ge, lias esTourbeen produced 
and perpetuated. Now as hades, or lieii, in- 
variabij signifies the mansion of departed 
souls, it is not diiTicult to understand that 
part of tlic apostle's creed which says, that 
Christ •• descended into helL'^ This the an- 
cient Hebrew writers describe as in the cen- 
tral parts of the eartli : a vast repository. 
surrounded by an impassable wall, and for- 
tified with huge gates of brass, and massive 
bars of iron, which our Saviour by his power 
was to batter down, and cut in sunder. That 
part of the mansion to which the righteous 
descended, v/as called Paimdlse, Tiiis was 
not a state of penal confinement ; but of un- 
finished bliss, of security and hope. Into 
tliis place men would never have entered, 
had it not been for sin. As the Saviour took 
on him the whole condition of humanity, it 
became necessarj , as a part of his wonderful 
Iidiniliationjthat he should descend into the 
habitation of departed souls, that he might 
prochdm liberty to the captives, '-and deli- 
ver them who J through fear of death, were 
all their life-time subject to bondage.'* 
1;' hen did Christ descend into this invisible 



FUNERAL Sermon. ^& 

state called hailes^ or hell? Let liis words 
to the repentant thief answer : " To-day 
shalt tliou be with me in Paradise." Into 
this habitation of disembodied spirits did 
the Saviour descend; not there to abide^ 
for " his soul was not left in hell ;" not there 
to preach repentance, for this had been gi- 
yen ; but to proclaim his victory on the 
cross, — to announce that the great sacrifice 
of atonement had been offered ; and to as- 
sure the "spirits in prison'' that he was 
about to " ascend to his father and their fa- 
ther, to his God and their God." Having 
accomplished this part of his work, he re- 
turned on the third day, and assumed his 
body, so that " it saw no corruption." Now, 
that the Paradise to which Christ went after 
liis crucifixion was not heaven^ as it is com- 
monly supposed, is evident from his words to 
Mary. As soon as she recognised her risen 
Lord, he said, " Touch me not, for I am not 
yet ascended to my Father." This subject 
will receive farther illustration from the fol- 
lowing words in 1 Pet. iii. 18, ^'c. "For 
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the 
just for the unjust, that he mi.Q^ht bring us 
to God ; being put to death in the flesh, but 



"^ ' FUNERAL SERMON. 

fjuickoiieil by the Spirit : by which also he 
went and preached to the spirits in prison ; 
Avhieh sometime ^vere disobedient, when 
once the long- suffering of God waited in the 
days of Xoah." Commentators have strange- 
\y perverted tliis text, and, for fear of purga- 
tory, haye given up a most important fact 
in the history of redemption. Lest they 
should countenance the exposition of the 
Romish doctors, they gravely assure us, iu 
diiect contradiction to tlie words of the text, 
tliat Christ, by his Spirit,^ went in the days 
of Noah, and preached to the inhabitants of 
tlic former world. The words imply no such 
meaning ; but plainly declare that Christ, 
after his death, went and preached: "bein^ 
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by 
the spirit," or, "quiet in spirit:" that is y 
alive in his soul, which survived the stroke 
under which his body fell : '* he went and 
preached to the spirits ;" not to men in 
the flesh : " to the spirits in prison," or safe-- 
Sweeping. Who were these spirits ? The 
next words inform us: "the spirits whicb 
'sometime were disobedient." This expres- 
uon implies, that they had afterwards be- 
.'ome obedient. '' They were disobedient, 



FUNERAL SERMON. ^" 

wlien once the long-suflcring of God waited 
ill tlie dnys of Xoali." Rut as it seems im- 
plied that they afterwards became obedient, 
it is reasonable to believejthat numbers, wIkj 
had slighted the Marnings of Noah, as sooyj^ 
us they beheld the signs of the approaching 
deluge — when they felt the earth trem 
bling, and bursting under their feet — when 
they beheld the fountains of the great deep 
breaking up — the windows of heaven open- 
ed — the floods pouring down, and in their 
wide-wasting sweep burying all in ruin ;~ 
i'epented, deeply repented, of their enor- 
jnous sins, and found refuge in the mercy 
of God. Though " the flood took tlicm all 
away," yet those who cried for pardon and 
repented, were accepted, and were secured 
in the habitation of the spirits of the just. 
That there were thousands of others in this 
subterranean repository, there can remain 
no doubt ; for this was the Paradise to which 
the patriarchs, prophets, and holy men of 
old, departed, and into which they entered 
after death. These all died in faith of the 
3Iessiah to come, not having received the 
promises ; but beheld them afar ofi* and 
were persuaded of tliem. The reason^,- T 



«8 FUxNfERAL SERMON. 

conceive, wliy the disobedient in the days 
of Noah are exclusively mentioned, are 
these — that, as they were suddenly hurried 
off in such a tremendous catastrophe, they 
ini^^ht still entertain fearful apprehensions 
of divine wrath. Succeeding ages might 
suppose, that the antediluvians had no part 
in the great redemption, hecausethey expe- 
rienced such severity from God. These ap- 
prehensions the apostle dissipates, by as- 
suring us that Christ '* went and preached 
to the spirits in prison." He there pro- 
claimed the accomplishment of redemption; 
announced tlie acceptable year of the Lord, 
and the opening of the prison doors. "He 
delivered the prey from the mighty, and di- 
vided the spoil with the strong;" and thus 
became " Lord of the dead and living." 
" ISow," says Paul, " that he ascended, what 
is it but tlvdt he also descended first into 
the lower parts of the earth?" Eph. iv. 9. 
This last expression is a periphrasis for 
hell, or the mansion of spirits. Christ, at 
his ascension, delivered these, and carried 
them all up in triumph to heaven. The 
aposde says expressly, " he ascended on 
high, leading captivity captive." It is ubun- 



•FUNERAL SERISION. SR 

dantly evident tVom tlie Scriptures, tlmU 
since the ascension of Christ, fill his fol 
lowers, at deatli, ascend up where he is, at 
the right hand of God ; and do not descend 
to the phice called Paradise, where Christ 
conducted the repentant thief; where were 
in safe-keeping all who had died in faith of 
the Messiah to come. Christ at his ascen- 
sion certainly went up into heaven ; he 
prayed that where he was there his disci- 
ples might he, and behold his glory. " I.'' 
said Christ, " ascend unto my Father." " A. 
little while, and ye shall not see me, becaust) 
1 go to the Father." " In my Father's house 
are many mansions ; if it were not so I 
w ould have told you. I go to prepare a place 
for you." Christ is represented at the day 
of judgment as coming from heaven with 
all his saints. In short, no fact is more 
plainly or frequently stated in the New Tes- 
tament, than the residence of Christ in hea- 
venly glory at his Father's right hand. At 
the day of judgment it is evident that none 
of the rigliteous are in hades : for John says. 
that death and hudcs^ or hell, gave up the 
dead tliat were in them. These were cer- 
tainly the wicked dead : for the next words 



<iO FUNERAL SERMOKv 

assure us, " that death and hades were cast 
into the lake of fire, which is the second 
death." 

What a glorious view does the pre- 
ceding statement exhihit of the great woi*k 
of Christ! How clearly does it establish the 
separate existence of the soul ! How com- 
pletely does it destroy the dismal notion of 
a state of sleep between death and the re- 
surrection ! Christ said to his disciplesj 
^' Because I live, ye shall live also." As the 
soul of Christ survived the dissolution of his 
body, and continued in a state of conscious 
activity, so shall the soul of every believer. 
Christ is the captain of salvation, and the 
king of glory. As a conqueror from the 
cross, travelling in the greatness of his 
strength, he bound in everlasting chains the 
power of darkness; and, while he bade the 
prisoners go free, rising in all the majesty 
of his power, with his uplifted arm, smote 
the bastile of death, and crumbled it to 
;atoms. Then did our great Immanuel 
triumph ! Then did he finish man's re- 
demption ! Then, O Deaths thou didst lose 
thy sting ! Then, O Hellj thou didst feel 
thine eternal wound ^ 



FUNERAL SfiRMOK. Si 

The Saviour, having delivered the priso- 
uers of hope, and proclaimed the acceptable 
year of the Lord ; having returned and visit- 
ed his church, " being seen of them forty 
days ;" having, through death, established 
his empire, and become " Lord of the dead 
and living ;" having collected the myriads 
of spirits in safe-keeping ; having accom- 
plished his work on the earth, and " under 
the earth ;'' — he ascended on high, leading 
captivity captive ; while adoring angels hail- 
ed his return to heaven: "Lift up your 
heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye 
everlasting doors, and the King of glory 
shall come in ! Who is this King of glory ? 
The Lord strong and mighty ; the Lord 
mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye 
gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting 
doors, and the King of glory shall come in ! 
Who is this King of glory ? The Lord of 
hosts: he is the King of glory." — As a re- 
turning conqueror, with all his captive and 
ransomed millions, he entered heaven's 
everlasting doors, while love ineifable beam- 
ed from his Father's face, and ten thousand 
hallelujahs, sent forth in loud harmony, 
rang through the eternal regions. 



TIius, I tliink it abundantly eyideiit, 
from the dictates of reason, and from Scrip- 
Ini'al doctrine and Scriptural facts, that the 
soul survives the dissohition of the body. 
Here a question of the highest interest pre- 
Incuts itself — In what state has the Christian 
reason to hope that he shall exist after the 
death of the body ? This brings me to tlit) 
next part of my subject : 

II. To show that Christians, at death, 
are received into heaven, where Christ their 
Lord is in liis "glorified body. 

That there is a mansion called heaven, 
somcwliere in the vast dominions of God, 
is clearly taup.'ht in the Scriptures. The apos- 
tle Paul calls it the third heaven. " I knew 
a man in Christ caught up to the third hea- 
ven." This is the place in which God more 
immediately displays his glory to angels 
and the spirits of the just made perfect ; 
the mansion, that " high and holy place," in 
which Christ resided before he came down 
to earth. Alluding to this, he says, John 
xvii. 5, " And now, O Father, glorify thou 
me with thine own self, with the glory which 
1 had Svith thee before the w orld was." And 
in cliup. vi. 6S, speaking to lus disciples, he 



FUNERAL SERlVrGN, S3 

says, '^ What, and if ye shall see the son of 
man ascend up where he was before. '^ " Ye 
are from beneath, I am from above.** " In 
my father's house are many mansions." 
Paul says, " The first man is of the earth 
earthy ; the second man is the Lord from 
heaven." The " two men in white" who 
stood by the disciples at the ascension, said, 
" Ye men of Galike, why stand ye gazing 
up into heaven ? This same Jesus which is 
taken up from you into heaven, shall so 
come, in like manner as ve have seen him 
go into heaven." The apostle Peter said 
to the Jev/s concerning Jesus, " Whom the 
heavens must receive until the times of 
restitutionof all things." Acts iii. SI. Paul 
v/riting to the Hebrews, says, " Christ is 
not entered into the holy places, made 
with hands, but into heaven itself." Heb. 
ix. S4. He also says, " I have a desire to 
depart and to be with Christ — ^to be absent, 
from the body, and to be present with the 
Lord." In the Scriptures, the Church is 
spoken of as " The whole family in heaven 
and on earth ;" as one extensive and uni- 
ted fraternity, as an organised and propor- 
tioned body, of w hich Christ is the hend 



34t FUNERAL SEIUMO^ 

Jcrustilcni which is above, is motlier of vM. 
the children on earth. Tiie righteous at 
death, tliercforo,are merely removed into an 
]iip;her mansion of the vast palace of God. 
Wliat a transporting view does tlie apostle 
Paul give of tiic great family under Christ 
and God, the judge of all. "Ye are come 
nnto 3Iount Sion, and unto the city of the 
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem ; and to 
an innumeraUe company of angels; to the 
,-eneral assembly, and Church of the first 
i',orn, which are written in heaven ; and to 
God the judge of all; and to the spirits of 
just men made perfect, and to Jesus the 
'Mediator of the New Covenant." . John 
when iu Patmos, had a view of the heaven- 
ly -lory ; he beheld the great Messiah thron- 
iHUn majesty : he saw the four living crea, 
turcs and the four and twenty elders casting 
their crowns of gold before the throne, sing- 
i.n- a new song, " Thou art worthy, for 
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to 
Ciod out of every kindred, and tongue, and 
people, and nation." ;, 

There is unn.ucstion.ibly a local heaven, 
styled the habitation of God ; where h.^ 
manirests his glory ; a mansion of delight. 



f UNERAL SERMON; 35 

-far remote from the sphere of fallen nature, 
beyond the utmost verge of matter, Avhero 
eternal nature as it flows from God, reijjns 
■\rith all its elements hound in immoveable^ 
•everlasting harmony ; where sin has never 
entered, and never %vill enter ; there thron- 
ed in glory, reigns, and forever will reign, 
the great Immanuel ; there he sits arrayed 
in light ; and from his high and holy place, 
looks do wn on his vast monarch}', and surveys 
innumerable worlds and systems rolling be- 
Beath his feet. There dwells the train of 
angels and archangels, clothed in glory. 
There stand and bov/ before the throne the 
palm bearing millions, "redeemed from every 
kindred, and tongue, and people." There 
stands the tree of life, hearing immortal 
fruit; and fast by the fount of God pours 
forth its chrystal waters. The light of the 
sun and the moon are lost in the everlasting 
light and glory of God. 

Into this bi'ight mansion, all who die 
in the Lord will be received. This is tlie 
place which Christ has gone to prepare for 
them. It is not without reason tliat ibeY 
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 



¥6 FtNfiRAL SERMON. 

^ I'stiall now proceed to the last partiexi* 
W' proposed from the text. ' * 

III. I am to shew why Christians are 
always confident that they shall exist 'after 
death with Christ, and afterwards be fashion- 
ed like to his glorious body. 

1. The confidence or faith of Chris^ 
tians, is founded in the testimony of God, 
and implies a full surrender of the intellect 
and heart, to his authority. Hence faith 
becomes the medium of intercourse between 
the soul and things distant and unseen ; it 
operates as a new sense, enlarging the 
sphere of reason ; and by connecting the 
events of time with the retributions of 
eternity, substitutes more noble and efiica« 
cious principles of action ; and by impart- 
ing to the present, the powers of the world 
to come, points the destiny of man to an 
higher interest and a brighter crown. Faith 
looks not at the things "that are seen," for 
these are temporal ; but " at the things 
which are unseen," for these are eternaL 
For all our knowledge of existence after the 
present life, we are wholly indebted to di- 
vine revelation. In this the promises are 
60 plain and explicit, the declarations so M- 



FUNERAL SE,RMO^\ i? 

rect and decisive, that we havp r^asjpnrv to be 
always conMent that 'VwhiUt we are at 
home in the body, we are absent from the 
Lord;'* that wiien we die, " we shall be 
present with him;" so that "whether we 
live or die, we are the Lords." " The Lord 
himself shall descend from heaven Avith a 
shout, with the voice of the archangel and 
the trump of God; and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first." 1 Thes. iv. 16. "Them 
also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring 

^with him." " For our conversation is in 
heaven ; from whence also we look for the 
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall 
change our vile body, that it may be fash- 
ioned like unto his glorious body," PhiL 
iii. ^0, SI. 

': God will most assuredly fulfil all his 

promises ; " he will guide us with his coun-^ 
sel and afterward receive us to glory." 
The christian founds his hope of future 
happiness not on the promises alone ; he can 
appeal to a source of evidence more direct 
and impressive, which pours light into his 
understanding, and powerniily impresses 
hU heart. Christ, before his departure, 
l^romised to his disciples the adve ut and 



38 FUNERAL SERMON. _ * 

illumination of the Holj Ghost, the conifbrtvf 
er, and declared that he should ahide with 
them for ever, that he should hring all 
things to their remembrance, and lead them 
into all truth. 

^. Hence another reason of the Chris- 
tian's confidence, is the testimony of the 
Spirit. John says, " he that believeth in 
the Son, hath the witness in himself;" and 
the apostle says, '' The spirit beareth wit- 
jiess with our spirits, that we are the chil- 
dren of God." — Tlie Holy Spirit, under the 
.character of teacher, sanctifier and comfort- 
er, is the great agent in manifesting, applyr 
ing, and rendering effectual, the redemp- 
tion obtained by Christ. " If I go away 
said Christ, I will send him unto you." " He 
shall not speak of himself, he shall testify 
of me, for he shall receive of mine and show 
it unto you." By the things of Christ Me 
are to understand his mediatorial work in 
•^dl its branches ; his assumption of our 
nature ; his spotless birth; his obedient 
and holy life ; his bitter sufferings and 
death ; his triumphant resurrection and as- 
cension ; his session and intercession at the 
right hapd of God. The teaching and doc- 



FUNERAL SERMON. 30 

trine of the Spirit of Truth may always he 
known hy this, that they lead men directly 
to Christ, and induce themtohuild all theii* 
hopes of salvation on him. In the first 
estahlishment of Christianity, the Spirit 
hore testimony to the truths of the gospeli 
by miraculous gifts and powers. Men, on 
tlie surest ground, the evidence of their 
senses, embraced the great salvation^ 
''^ which," says Paul, " began to be spoken by 
the Lord, and was confirmed unto u« bv 
them that heard him. God also bearin;^ 
them witness, both with signs and wonders, 
and with divers miracles and gifts of the 
Holy Ghost." Heb. ii. 3, 4. The disciples 
of Christ were so blinded by their preju- 
dices in favour of a temporal kingdom, that 
even after his resurrection, they addressed 
him tiius : " Lord wilt thou at this time 
restore again the kingdom of Israel." And 
he said unto them, "It is not for you tt> 
knoAV the times or the seasons, which the 
Father hath put in his own power; but ye 
shall receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you." A cts i. 6, ?. He al- 
so "commanded them that they should not 
depart from Jerusalem; but wait for thb 



■ &• 1::- • ' ■ ?-^f",lt'-'^^ " F^ 

40 FUNEfilt SERMOX. 

fuifA-itv^d-\ ^ .1 \. x^ .,'■'v■-^'t^fr{^Mm'■ 

J)roml^e or the lather, which/' says ne •• ye 

Iiave heard of me." 

Let us now see how this promise 
was fulfilled. Let us sec in what man» 
nerthe apostles received power from Ou 
high. '' When the day of Pentecost was ful- 
ly come, they were all of one accord in one 
place, and suddenly there came a sound ; 
from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, [ 
an J filled all the house where they were sit- , 
ting ; and there appeared unto them clovea| 
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon ca«h^. 
of, them. Acts i. 1, ^c. The apostles j,, 
were greatly agitated, and immediately a(I*»|L 
dressed the multitudes in languages they . 
had never learned. At this time, a grand 
anniversary festival of the Jewish nation, 
there ''were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, 
devout men out of every nation under hea« 
ven." How great was their astonishment 
when they heard unlettered Galileans ad- 
dressing them and " speaking to them ia | 
their own tongue in which they were bom|| 
the wonderful works of God.'* The apos*^^ 
ties now experienced the fulfilment of the^j 
promise concerning the Holy Ghost ; they 
mow received power from on high 5 they 



now entertained no doubt tliat Clirist liad^^ 
risen and ascended to God, Such was tlieii' ^ 
conviction, sucli was their confidence, that 
even Peter, who had denied his Master, , 
now boldly came forth and charged the 
Jews with murdering "the Prince of Life." 
So cogent were his reasonings from their own 
prophets, that they " were pricked in their 
liearts, and cried out, Men and brethren 
what shall we do?" Such was the force 
of truth ; such was the testimony of the 
I^oify Ghost, that, "the same day, there 
w ere added unto them about three thousand . 
soyls." The Holy Ghost confirmed the 
dbcirine of the Apostles, not only by the 
gift of tongues, but by the power of healing 
diseases and raising the dead. Miracles 
are the best possible proofs of a religion, de- 
signed to be catholic or ecumenical. They 
are a direct appeal to the senses of men ; 
and can be judged of as well by the illite- 
ra;te as the learned. Miracles are superna- 
tural facts, so connected with the doctrines 
they are designed to confirm, that if you 
admit the former you must admit the latter. 
If-a teacher ailirm that his docrine is from 
G^d,-W(I'iri attestiation of it, can by a word '^ 



^^ FUNERAL SERMON.r 

heal tlie sick and raise the dead, we ai*e 
obliged to acknowledge him a messenger 
from God ; for we know that is it impossible 
for God to lend an exertion of his power to 
support an impostor or propagate a false- 
hood. In the miracles performed by Christ 
and his Apostles there could be no decep- 
tion ; they were performed in open day, 
before thousands of spectators, in the full 
possession of their senses ; and for ends the 
most disinterested and important. After 
the establishment of Christianity, miracles 
were not necessary, and therefore ceased to 
be performed. To us, they now stand on 
record as other historical facts, and as such 
are to be used for the confirmation of our 
faith. The ordinary assistances of the Spirit, 
in sanctifying and illuminating, are gTanted 
to us, and to all Christians in all ages and 
nations ; and carry directly to our own con- 
sciousness, a degree and kind of evidence, 
which if we reject, we must reject all evi- 
dence whatever. '' lie that believeth on 
the Son, hatlrthe witness in himself." This 
is sufiicient to authorize our confidence, 
that we shall live as Christ lives ; that 
when he appears we shall appear with lun\ 



FUNERxVL SERMOX. 48 

•itigldry ;— that lie will change our vile ho^ 
dy and make it like his most glorious hody ; 
and that with him we shall reign and tri* 
umph forever, in the kingdom of God. 
:i»8ii^ ^^notlier reason why Christians are 
confident of future happiness, is the evi- 
dence they have of Christ's resurrection. 
♦This is a most important fact, foritinvohes 
the truth of the whole system of divine re- 
velation. As the resurrection of Christ was 
-^miracle of the highest kind, so it gave a 
iftiost striking display of the power and in- 
terposition of God. Now, if we admit that 
C!Jliri&t was raised from the dead, we must 
itdmit that he was a true prophet ; that all 
his doctrines were true, and tliat the wri- 
tings of the ancient prophets, to which he 
often appealed, were divinely inspired.— 
Christ represented his resurrection and eter- 
nal life, as indissolubly connected with 
those of his followers. He is the head :-^ 
they are the members. His resurrection 
involves theirs: " Because I live, y@ shall 
live also." " I am the resurrection and the 
life." " When Christ, w iio is our life, sh^li 
^^'#|^pea?, then shall we appear with him in 
"^c^^ ^'^' Wo shall be ftisbioned like tx) 



% FUNERAL SERMON, 

Lis glorious body." " The first Adam was 
anade a living soul; the second a queckining 
spirit." " And as we have borne the image 
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image 
of the heavenly." 

eij No fact recorded in ancient history comes 
to us so well authenticated, so fully esta- 
blished, as the resurrection of Christ. Of 
this we shall be convinced, whether we 
consider the number or competency of 
the witnesses ; the motives by which they 
were actuated ; the sacrifices they made ; 
the dangers they incurred; the sufferings 
tkey endured ; the ardor and perseverance 
w ith which tliey laboured ; or the success 
and triurapli with which their efiorts were 
crowned. Their conduct can be accounted 
for on no supposition, but a perfect convic- 
tion of the truth they announced. Tlieyre- 
]iiounced all the usual enjoyments, interests, 
pursuits and pleasures of life. These they 
willingly exchanged for toil, reproach, dis- 
Ilionoui', poverty, persecution and death ; 
and rejoiced in testifying their attachment 
to their risen Lord. 

■0 In the hands of a few unlettered, artless 
men. the Gospel every where triumphed. 



FUNERAL SERMON. 4^ 

The Spirit of God bore testimony to the 
truth of their declarations, by the most 
stupendous miracles. The dead heard the 
voice of the Son of God, and awoke into 
life. The Gospel was indeed the power of 
God unto salvation. It subdued the proud, 
and enlightened the ignorant ; reformed 
the vicious, and restrained the profligate ; 
humbled the vain, and softened the obdu- 
rate ; prevailed against the united powers 
of philosophy and eloquence ; and with an 
energy which neither earth nor hell could 
resist, banished the pompous ceremonial 
of heathen worship, and prostrated the 
sceptre of the world at the foot of the cross. 
The great object of the apostolick ministry 
was to bear testimony to the resurrection of 
Christ. On this fact depended the fate of 
Christianity. The sudden and universal 
spread, therefore, of the Gospel; its pow- 
erful and salutary effects on the hearts and 
lives of men, at a period when the greatest 
efforts of human ability and learning had 
proved unavailing, are striking testimonies 
of its divine original, and such as ought to 
make us xejoice in hope of the gbry of 
God*.ai.rnt f}'!:^^' .K.irjm 



The manner m which the JiiVanjyehst^ 

[til );■:.• . C5 

Have described the death and resurrection 
of Christ, impresses on the mind an irre- 
sistible conriction of honesty and truth. 
Ko dissimulation can be so perfect as to 
hide the deformity and jealousy of fraud 
and imposture. Examine the narratives 
of the Evangelists ; the manner in which 
they exhibit the conduct of the disciples and 
others at the resurrection ; imagine your- 
selves present, your oAvn feelings will teach 
^ou ; they will speak a language which yoii 
caitnot resist. Such is the language of the 
Evangelists. You cannot suspect them of 
deception. Why should they propagate a 
falsehood, when they could expect nothing 
from it, but injury, abuse, contempt and 
death ? The conduct and language of the 
disciples, on hearing that Christ had risen ; 
their doubts, fears and astonishment, when 
they beheld him ; when they saw the marks 
of the nails in his hands and feet, and of 
ti|e spear in his side; are incontestible 
^'proofs of the reality oiP the resurrection. 
.If the disciples had been engaged in an 
imposture ; if by a concurrence between 
them and Christ ^ or from any other cause 



FUNERAL SERMON. ^7 

l^e had been taken down from the cross be- 
fore he was really dead ; had been laid ip. 
the tomb ; and they had taken him away 
while the guard slept ; would they have be- 
trayed any doubts of his resurrection when 
it was announoed ? Would the reports of 
it have appeared to them like idle tales, so 
thr.t they believed them not ? When tho 
Saviour appeared to them at Jerusalem, 
would they have been petrified as they 
were with astonishment and fear, so that 
they could not credit their senses ? "Why 
are ye troubled," said Christ, " and why do 
thoughts arise in your minds ? Behold my 
hands." When the disciples could no longer 
resist the evidence of their eyes and hands ; 
We are told that their joy was so great, that 
they could not believe, and that they won- 
dered. What a picture is this of the work- 
ings of nature on such an occasion ! If 
the disciples were engaged in a conspiracy 
to make the resurrection be believed, when 
it was not true, how happened it that they 
themselves were so slow to believe ? When 
Christ was laid in the tomb, the disciples 
gave Up his cause in despair ; for they did 
not know the Scriptures, that he must rise 



46 FUNERAL SERMON. 

again from the dead. God kept them in 
ignorance, that the truth might appear 
xnore conspicuous. The soldiers declared 
that tlie disciples had stolen him awa)' while 
they slept. How could they know what 
was done when they were asleep ? Such is 
the refuge of falsehood. Of what use could 
the body be to the disciples except to em- 
balm it ? And had they done this, this very 
eircum stance would have proved Christ an 
imposter and false prophet, because he had 
before declared that he should rise on the 
third day. The circumstance that prepa- 
ration was made for embalming the body, 
is a full proof that the disciples knew not 
that he should rise again. All tiie proofs 
^f Christ's resurrection, are proofs of his 
divine mission, and of the resurrection of 
all his followers. Thus whether the Chris- 
tian considers the evidence of ffiith, of 
testimony, of the witness of the Spirit, or 
the proofs of Christ's resurrection, he has 
sufficient reason for his confidence as to 
the separate existence of the soul; its fu- 
ture union with the body, and the endless 
felicity of both in heaven. 



FUNERAL SERMON. 49 

Permit me, now, to close tliis service 
with a sliort address to the honorable Legis- 
lature. During the last year, our state in 
general, has been visited with an unusual 
degree of mortality. The sighs of the widow 
and the orphan, have ascended to heaven. 
A large portion of your associates, has 
been called into the eternal world. By as- 
sembling to j)ay a ti'ibute of respect to de- 
parted worth ; and with humility and re- 
signation, to recognize the awful visitation 
of Heaven, you evince a becoming sympa- 
thy with the afflicted, and set an example, 
worthy the Legislators of a Christian peo- 
ple. Permit me, to remind you of the dis- 
tinguishing goodness of G od, in sparing you. 
Consider these recent instances of mor- 
tality, as the voice of God, '• Be ye also 
ready." Every moment brings you nearer 
the grave and the awful tribunal of Jeho- 
vah. Probably before another year is past, 
many in this assembly will be sleeping in 
the dust. Are you prepared for that tre- 
mendous moment, when you must bid adiea 
to time, and launch into eternity ? Turn 
not a deaf ear to the warning voice of God. 
Cherish the solemn reflections which the 



50 FUNERAL SEIIMOK 

present occasion presses on your minds, 
and fly to the refuge God has provided. 
He has done every thing that it was proper 
lie should do for your salvation. His Soa 
lias died for you to expiate your sins, and 
lias removed all external obstacles. The 
<aalls of his grace are free and indiscrimi- 
nate, " Whosoever will let him come." — 
"Him that cometh unto me, I will in no 
wise cast out." "Seek ye the Lord while 
he may be found ; call ye upon him while 
he is near." " Let the wicked forsake his 
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; 
and let him return unto the Lord and he 
will have mercy upon him ; and to our 
God, for he will abundantly pardon." By 
embracing the gospel, you will find a reme- 
dy for every evil, a balm for every wound. 
You will be prepared to meet your Saviour 
and your God ; and possess an hope full of 
ardour, full of immortality. 



liNli. 



